E3 07: Nintendo's Lineup @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on July 11, 2007

News: The DS and the Wii will be very crowded places this fall.

Nintendo has pulled back the curtain on their biggest upcoming titles including an official announcement for Mario Kart Wii and the first look at Wii Fit.

Here's the full list of titles they plan to show off at E3 2007:

Wii Titles

Wii Fit: The active-play phenomenon started by Wii Sports now spreads to your whole body thanks to the pressure-sensitive Wii Balance Board (name not final), which comes packed with Wii Fit. The board is used for an extensive array of fun and dynamic activities, including aerobics, yoga, muscle stretches and games. Many of these activities provide a УcoreФ workout, a popular exercise method that emphasizes slower, controlled motions. Family members will have fun staying active and talking about and comparing their results and progress on a new channel on the Wii Menu.

Mario Kart Wii (name not final): The new version of Mario Kart, due in early 2008, features new vehicles and lets players near and far compete using Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, Nintendo's wireless gaming service. Mario Kart launches with the Wii Wheel (name not final), a steering wheel housing for the Wii Remote that brings new controls and challenges for veteran gamers, while making getting into a race easy and intuitive for newcomers.

Super Mario Galaxy: The latest masterpiece by legendary video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto puts a smile on the face of everyone who plays it. Until now, no game has matched the sheer fun and sense of delightful awe produced by the groundbreaking Super Mario 64. Using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, players navigate iconic hero Mario through a series of planets, each with its own gravity, chaotic challenges and power-ups. The game bursts through the screen in vivid artistic detail, and a second player can even provide some assistance along the way. It blasts off Nov. 12.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl: Nintendo's all-out smash-or-be-smashed franchise remains one of the most highly anticipated games of the year. Its predecessor became the No. 1 selling game of all time on Nintendo's previous console. Super Smash Bros. Brawl ups the ante with new characters, new moves and new arenas. The game smashes into North American stores Dec. 3.

Wii Zapper (name not final): This new accessory combines the accuracy of the Wii Remote and Nunchuk in a single housing for a new experience for first-person shooters and targeting games. Players can hear the sounds of battle through the Wii Remote speaker when it is incorporated into the Wii Zapper. It arrives on store shelves later this year, packaged with Nintendo-developed software that shows off its versatility. The Wii Zapper also will be used with a host of third-party games, including Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles from Capcom, Ghost Squad from Sega and Medal of Honor from Electronic Arts.

Check Mii Out Channel (name not final): Launching in 2007, this free new channel builds on the huge phenomenon of Wii owners creating fun caricatures of themselves, their friends and celebrities. The two main components of the free channel include an area where users can post Miis they have created to let others vote on their artistic abilities, and a competition element that lets users test their skills to create the most accurate likeness of individuals or other themes suggested by Nintendo. The Check Mii Out Channel joins the lineup of cool channels on the Wii Menu, which includes the Internet Channel, the Everybody Votes Channel and the Forecast Channel, among others.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption: This final chapter of the Metroid Prime trilogy introduces unmatched first-person controls by letting players use the Wii Remote as an arm cannon for a feeling of complete immersion. Heroine Samus travels between planets to stop her nemesis, Dark Samus, from corrupting them. All the while Samus fights the spreading Phazon that is taking over her body while giving her incredible powers. It launches Aug. 27.

DS Titles

Flash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a Day is designed to help users sharpen their УFocus PowerФ with a series of fun tests of hand-eye coordination, eye agility, reaction time and peripheral vision. Top-rated athletes have long used computerized vision trainers to help them take better aim before they swing at the ball. Now Flash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a Day puts this same technology into the palm of your hands. The title launches on Oct. 15.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass: For the first time, players can control the action using only the Nintendo DS stylus. If you've never played a Zelda game, you'll learn the controls in a snap. And even if you are familiar with the franchise, you've never played a Zelda game like this before. On Oct. 1, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass launches hero Link on a wild new adventure and sets a new standard for graphics capabilities and game interaction on DS. In Japan, the game launched in late June and is selling well to both avid and casual gamers, including female players.

Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day: The prefrontal cortices of gamers of all types will light up once they hear of the new ways to keep their brains active. On Aug. 20, Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day builds on the huge success of the original title while introducing more than a dozen new brain-stimulating activities that incorporate music, word and logic puzzles and voice recognition.